RED SOX: A lot of little keys to Game 2 win

Monday

When you’re the Boston Red Sox and you need to win the biggest game of your season, you don’t ask any questions. You take a victory, pack your bags and head to Houston.

That’s what the Sox did late Sunday after somehow fighting, scratching and clawing their way to a vital, 7-5 win over the Houston Astros at Fenway Park. The win evened the ALCS at a game apiece with the next three on deck in Texas.

The Sox should consider themselves fortunate to be even in a series that not only matches the two best teams in the American League, but perhaps all of baseball. Alex Cora’s crew hasn’t come close to playing a complete game but this may just be a series where they need to keep trading body blows to match the world champion `Stros.

Can you really win without an ace on your pitching staff?

Can you really win if you need to keep inserting a starting pitcher into every high leverage eighth inning?

Can you really win if you need to score huge runs against a big-time relief corps without putting the baseball in play?

Can you really win with the power bat of J.D. Martinez not chipping in?

The Sox have checked these boxes thus far, yet are more than alive. That’s huge because no team has lost the first two games at home and won a best-of-seven ALCS.

It will be tough – maybe impossible - to win this series if either of the Red Sox top two starters can’t lead the wagon through five innings. That’s what happened again in Game 2 as David Price followed Chris Sale to the mound for Boston. Sale lasted only four innings in a Game 1 that the Sox eventually lost, 7-2.

That placed all sorts of pressure on the shoulders of Price, the team’s $30-million hurler who had failed to show up even once under the bright playoff lights. Price wasn’t good in this game either, but he was admittedly Price operating with a pretty low bar of expectations.

In his previous 10 postseason starts, Price owned a 0-9 record with a 6.03 ERA. His team lost all 10 of the starts, including Game 2 of the ALDS against the Yankees when he didn’t make it out of the second inning. He lasted just 4.1 innings against the Astros after giving up four runs on five hits but watched his bullpen come in and shut the door.

“We won. That’s my first team win as a starter,” said Price. “If it's baby steps, it’s baby steps. I expect to win and I’m very happy that we won.”

Despite Price’s playoff woes, Cora stuck by his man. He easily could’ve elevated Nathan Eovaldi to a Game 2 start (and potential Game 6) but stayed with Sale and Price at the top of his rotation. That will mean Sale in a Game 5 and Price in a potential Game 6 need to be better.

“He threw the ball well actually,” Cora said of Price. “He gave us a chance to win.”

There were other, much more important reasons why the Red Sox won. First was a monster three-run double by Jackie Bradley, Jr., in the third inning off Houston starter Gerrit Cole. The Sox roughed up Cole with two runs in the very first inning but Bradley’s Wall double made it 5-4 and bailed out Price’s uneven start.

The next key was the bullpen. Cora dipped deep into his pen and for 4.1 innings the group allowed just one run. The night was highlighted by Rick Porcello donning his relief cape once again and shutting down the Astros in the eighth inning. Craig Kimbrel allowed a run but shut the door in the ninth.

The Sox will need to manufacture runs against a team like the Astros but no run was more creative that the team’s sixth in the seventh. Mookie Betts, who played like an MVP, led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on a passed ball and then raced home on yet another passed ball that catcher Martin Maldonado couldn’t handle. “He went around the bases and they didn’t put the ball in play,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said with a shake of his head. “Those are tough in this type of series, these types of games.”

These type of games may just keep coming down to some oddball plays, a big play here, a clutch hit there. Starting pitchers may not stick around long, sluggers may not hit very much. The final innings, the final outs, will be ones to sweat over.

“I think in this series the bullpens are going to be talked about a lot,” Hinch said. “I think in playoff baseball there’s a lot of innings and a lot of big outs that you have to get. So buckle up.”

Buckle up indeed.

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